Speedracer!!

[kcollins4]

Clutch Cargo anyone? Cheapo animation, but with real moving lips! With Spinner and Paddlefoot

[GordonW]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

MY all time favorite was Star Blazers! Who could forget the adventures of Captain whats-his-name travelling to the planet Iscandar to fight off Desslok and the evil blue guys to save the earth in a Japanese battleship equipped with a wave motion engine!

Captain Avatar, along with Derek Wildstar, Sandor, Nova and the rest of the crew...

The lady who played Nova (Amy Howard Wilson) is a friend of mine... in fact, I was the one who introduced her to her husband!

I've also met the actor that played Wildstar (Ken Messerol), and talked with the actor that played Mark Venture (Tom Tweedy). One of the advantages of being one of the founding directors of an anime convention!

Speaking of Speed Racer- I've also had the honor of meeting Peter Fernandez (voice of Speed), and Corinne Orr (voice of Trixie). Also, I was able to talk to Fred Ladd, who basically was the single biggest reason Japanese cartoons were brought to America in the first place (producer of the American versions of Astro Boy, Gigantor, and Kimba the White Lion, all between about 1962 and 1966).

Incredible people, who've basically done everything as far as cartoons are concerned!

Regards,
Gordon.

[Jack Lord]

I used to watch a japanese sci fi show as a kid called Ultra-man... it was dubbed in english ... did i know that at the time? heck no... hiotta

That was a particular favorite of mine. I loved when he raised the beta capsule up and <BAM!> turned into UltraMan. Great stuff. Sort of in the mold of all those Godzilla and other Japanese monster movies.

Speed Racer was the coolest. It was on Cartoon Network late at night for a while. I caught the episode with the Gang of Assassins. Great shots of Speed in the Mach 5 roaring down the highway with Mt. Fuji in the background.

[KeninDC]

My old neighbor's dad (when I was growing up) wrote the Popeye music (Winston Sharples). I was discussing Ultraman this past weekend. Remember that "beta" capsule?

[tomt]

! Speaking of Speed Racer-
seen the geico bit, w/speed n trixie?

http://www.advertisementave.com/tv/a...layer&adid=609

[DaWoofer]

I NEVER saw an episode of speedracer, but I did use to watch some Jonny Quest when I was a young teenager. As an older teenager getting high and watching Looney Tunes was a blast will listernig to rock music. I swear sometimes you could read their lips and seen the swearing that they were saying. Especially characters like Pistol Pete and Daffy when they were pissed at Bugs.

[natedogg643]

Originally Posted by Henry Kloss

I always wondered why they didn't bring Speed racer back in reruns a long time ago.

They reran it on, IIRC, MTV in the mid or late 90s, but like most good MTV programming, it didn't last long...

[danj]

Mere words are not sufficient to describe my dislike for "Speedracer." I am old enough to remember its first runs on American television. I didn't like it then and like it less now.

It has a firm spot in my 10 Worst animated series list AND in my 10 Worst TV shows list.

The only thing I can think of that's worse is "The Mullets." You remember that show from a couple seasons back that starred Loni Anderson? By comparison it makes a bad show like "According to Jim" look like great art. A real steaming heap and another defining moment in television's great slide toward total idiocy.

[Bogframe]

Originally Posted by KeninDC

My old neighbor's dad (when I was growing up) wrote the Popeye music (Winston Sharples). I was discussing Ultraman this past weekend. Remember that "beta" capsule?

Winston Sharples (1909-1978) Was one of the hardest working composers in show business! In a career than spanned about 35 years, he had scored close to 800 shorts. Among the cartoons he scored were, Betty Boop, Popeye, Little Audrey, heck, most of the stuff that came out of Famous Studios/HarveyToons from the '30s until the '60s. He also did some of the music in Gigantor, Beany & Cecil, Top Cat, Beetle Baily and Friends and Go-Go Gophers.

[Sandy G]

GIGANTOR...GIGANTOR...GIGAAAAAAN-TOOOOORRRRR....Bigger than big, stronger than strong...I remember trying to watch this on Channel 98.7, an ultra low power UHF station in Rossville, Georgia, right on La Frontiera between Georgia & Chattanooga. Cheapo synchro-vox animation, black 'n' white, silly-looking anime, no-plot stories, most of the time it was Gigantor flying thru the skies w/the sleek, ultramodern 1964 skyscrapers whizzing by. Or what some poor, underpaid Japanese animator thought sleek, ultramodern 1964 skyscrapers oughta look like, anyway...

[Bogframe]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

GIGANTOR...GIGANTOR...GIGAAAAAAN-TOOOOORRRRR....Bigger than big, stronger than strong...I remember trying to watch this on Channel 98.7, an ultra low power UHF station in Rossville, Georgia, right on La Frontiera between Georgia & Chattanooga. Cheapo synchro-vox animation, black 'n' white, silly-looking anime, no-plot stories, most of the time it was Gigantor flying thru the skies w/the sleek, ultramodern 1964 skyscrapers whizzing by. Or what some poor, underpaid Japanese animator thought sleek, ultramodern 1964 skyscrapers oughta look like, anyway...

Gigantor, Gigantor, GIGAAAAAAN-TOOOOORRRRR.

Gigantor the space aged robot,
He's at your command.
Gigantor the space aged robot,
His power is in your hand.

Bigger than big, taller than tall,
Quicker than quick, stronger than strong.
Ready to fight for right, against wrong.

Gigantor, Gigantor, GIGAAAAAAN-TOOOOORRRRR!

BTW, here's a nifty Gigantor site that also has a .wav file of the Gigantor Theme (remember that nifty calypso beat?)